How string gauge affects whammy bar tension

  • Been thinking about this recently and not sure:

    A floating bridge (whammy bar setup) is a balance between the tension on the strings against the tension on the springs.

    the downside, as you know, is string bending takes more effort than a fixed bridge because as you bend a string the increase intension moves the bridge thus requiring further bending to reach the "target" pitch.


    Q. How would fitting heavier or lower gauge strings affect this?


    My guess is that it would make do difference. Lighters strings are easier to bend and require less force but equally there would be less spring-tension to create balance and any string bending would still require "extra" bending compared to a fixed bridge.


    It's obviously a case of adapting if you play fixed bridges and floating bridges as each require different physical demands when string bending.

    please share your thoughts, especially if you jump between fixed and floating bridges and how you deal with this.

  • If you put higher gauge strings on a guitar with a whammy, they have more tension, and will pull the springs to a longer length. This will move the physical location of the bridge, affecting intonation and playing action.


    You can tighten the term springs to counteract the extra tension, returning the bridge to the correct position.

    Agree with this, the situation is assuming the guitar is set up for the gauge of strings fitted.

    There will be more tension both ways (strings & springs) to acheive balance.

    The question is how finger-bending is affected and the interaction string gauge.

  • That's an easy question to answer:


    My experience indicates heavier stings + higher spring tension = more effort required to bend strings.

    Agree, again.

    What im getting at is the “extra” amount you need to bend to compensate for the movement of the bridge- is this extra amount more or less for different gauge strings? Sorry, probably didnt make this clear in my original post.


    Take for example, a double stop bend where one string is bent and the other string is played without being bent, the non-bent note gets lowered slightly in pitch as the other string is bent up in pitch. How might different string gauges affect this unwanted detuning of the non-bent note?

  • I set up a strat like this and it works well. 8)

    A floating bridge makes bending harder than a hardtail but the trade off is the wangbar.

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  • Interesting video, will have an experiment with that myself.


    The spring tension, as i see it, will always be a factor of sum of string tensions, + length (guitar-scale) + fulcrum point (distance of strings and springs from the pivot point) + tuning/string-pitch.

    Other than changing string gauge the other factors are hard to alter. Adjusting the spring tension can alter the angle at which the bridge rests at but it will always balance out to be the same tension as the sum of the string tension pulling the other way (wont it?)

    Im still optimistic as to how having the claw at an angle will work as the bridge moves all string in one movement. Could be what im looking for...


    Please share your results of any findings.

  • With the Verheyen workaround I can imagine that one will have to adjust string height because the bridge will be higher on one side than on the other. If this is the case it will be no quick workaround.

    I could have farted and it would have sounded good! (Brian Johnson)

  • With the Verheyen workaround I can imagine that one will have to adjust string height because the bridge will be higher on one side than on the other. If this is the case it will be no quick workaround.

    No, the bridge isn't higher when using the Verheyen method. The fulcrum posts (or screws, if it's a vintage trem) don't move, only the tension on the relative sides of the bridge changes. I've been setting up the claw on my bridges that way for a few years now, since I first saw the video, though I don't set up so I can pull up as many semitones as he does, rather have the bridge aligned with the body. It seems to improve general tuning stability and feel.

  • I've seen Carl's video before (and numerous debates about its validity that can get "pretty heated" to say the least). I'm not physics professor but my own personal take (for what its worth) is that Carl is a phenomenal guitar player but he should stick to playing ^^


    As far as I understand it; tension is tension. The strings neither know nor care what angle the claw is set at or which claws they attach to. As long as the overall tension is equal to the string tension it shouldn't matter how you angle the claw. The strings exert their pull on the pivot points not the claw. Now it you mover one pivot point back relative to the other that would have an effect (probably not a good one though !)


    It's entirely possible I'm just too stupid to understand this stuff. Probably a result of the fact that I spent most of my time in physics class at school hiding at the back of the class with a copy of Guitar Player magazine open inside my course books. I learned a hell of a lot more about SRV's string gauges than I did about Brownian Motion or anything like that.

  • It may be a case of emperor’s new clothes but I perceive a real difference in pitch accuracy and stability in both of my guitars since doing it. I’m going to take the tension down a bit as I don’t need a minor third on the G string but I’ll keep the angle. Horses for courses I guess.

    A brace of Suhrs, a Charvel, a toaster, an Apollo twin, a Mac, and a DXR10

  • Indeed, next string change I’m taking the bridge back down a bit but keeping the angle. I might put one of them back straight for a comparison

    A brace of Suhrs, a Charvel, a toaster, an Apollo twin, a Mac, and a DXR10